Electric flatiron



Oct. 14, 1952 N. T. ALMQUIST ELECTRIC FLATIRON 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 22, 1945 gwue/wto'b N I L5 T ALMQU 1ST Oct. 14, 1952 N. T. ALMQUIST ELECTRIC FLATIRON 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 22, 1945 NILS T. A'LMQUIST Oct. 14, 1952 N. T. ALMQUIST ELECTRIC FLATIRON 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 22, 1945 3 ;3O\ M IL A S K N Patented Oct. 14, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE iwraw memes Nils T. Almquist, New Britain, Conn, :assignor to;

Landers, Frary &. Clark, New Britain, Conn, a ss afisa fqvse wt ern is ea 2 1945; 5am! 1N W? 7 G eims 1 This invention relates to electric flat irons. and has particular'refe'rence to fiat irons of'the type having adjustable thermostatic control means.

An "aim of the invention is to provide a flat iron With a lamp disposed within the handle and so arranged as to illuminate the area of the pieces being ironed in advance of the toe of the iron.

A further aim of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement whereinaccess to the lamp and the connections leading thereto may be readilyand easily had for purposes of assembly and repair.

A still further aim of the. invention is to provide an iron with an improved handle comprising a relatively few number'of parts which may be readily andeasily assembled, the handle forming a housing for the lamp and the connections leading thereto and'also some of the connections leading from the conductor cord to the heating unit. 1

Another object of the invention is to provide means for. minimizing the conduction of heat from the lamp within the handle to the handle 'so'tha-t the latter will remain relativelycool. He further aim of the invention'is to mount the control knob for thethermostatic means adjacent the rear end of the hand grip portion of the handlewhere it is out of the way and yet readily accessible for manual adjustment;

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter;

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the constructionhereaf-ter set forth and the scope of the application of'w-hich will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein is sho'wn'one embodi-ment which the present invention may take? igure l'isa side elevational view of a flat iron in which my improvements are incorporated} F-ig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially through the center of the iron;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the handle, the lamp and connections thereto being shown in broken lines;

T ig. 4 is a front view of the handle;

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the adjusting knob;

Fig. 6 is a top view of the cover for the handle;

Fig. 7 is a side elevational view thereof; and

Fig. 6 is abottom view thereof.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the iron isshown, for-illustrative purposes, as having a seesaw l8 and'a heating unit ll of any suitable sort held" againstthe" top of the sole. plate by a pressure plate "l2. 'I3 is a shell or casing 'mount ed'upon the sole plate, and M is a sheet metal superdeck, "the sole plate, shell, and super.- eet new has i as embled/ l tio by e usual'posts lfiand nuts it. Mounted on the sole plate is a thermostat ll which maybe in the form of a bimetallic bar. This thermostat is associated with a switch which includes a movable contact '20 and a fixed contact 2|, the

latter being mounted on a plate 22 fixedly car. ried by the posts within the casing. The movable contact 20 is carried on the forward end. of a lever 23, the rear'end of which has a depend: ing tongue 24 which is located in the path of movement of the free or rear end of the thermostatic bar so as to be engaged thereby when the iron is heated. The lever 23 is pivoted between its ends to a link 25 which, in turn, is pivoted between its ends between the depending flanges of the plate 22. The rear end of the link is slotted or forked so as to straddle the rear post l5, and associated with the rearcend of this link is an adjustable screw 26 which is threaded into'an opening provided in the fixed plate 22 adjacent the rear end thereof. The lower end of the screw has a head against the upper surface of which the rear end of the link is adapted to bear, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. A tension spring 23 interposed between the plate 22 and the switch arm 23 normally urges the switch into closed position and maintains the rear end of the link against the head 21 of the screw. 5

It is understood that, when the screw 2Ev is adjusted in accordance with the degree of temperature at whieh it is desired to operate the iron, the tongue 24, through the link '25, is correspondingly adjusted with respect to the thermostat. Ihe screw is adjusted by a manually ads justable knob 3| througha stem 32 which is mounted for turning movement in an opening in the 'superdeck It. The lower end of the stem has a fiat blade 33 detachably engaging in a cross kerf in the upper end of the screw. The knob is secured to the stem by a nut 34 and is prevented from rotating with respect to'the stem by a disk 35 located in the lower end of the knob. For the purpose of preventing the disk from rotatingwith respect to the stem, the stem is provided with a knurled portion 36 which forms longitudinally extending splines, and the disk has a, central opening provided withteethadapted to mate with these splines (see Fig. 5). In, order to prevent rotation between, the. disk and the knob, the latter has a lug if! engaging in a notch provided in the periphery of the disk. The disk has a portion of its periphery cutaway so as to pr vide two ansu lv space .v a a te shoulders 39 and 41! between which extend a stop 4! for limiting the extentof rotation of the knob. The stop 4! is hereshown, for illustrative purposes, as being in the form of a projection on. the up or end of a screw associated with the e Pos t.

Refe n now to; the handle arran eme t it c mp ses handleA pr ferably formed chins is a eri The hands-A i a a eiugrestit into the channel.

upon the top of the superdeck I4, a hand grip portion a hollow rear upright portion 52, and a front upright portion 53. The handle is provided in its top with a longitudinally extending channel or groove 54 which is of increased depth at its forward end to form recess 55 in the front upright portion 53. The channel, at its rear end, communicates with an opening through the rear hollow upright portion 52 and the base 50. The forward wall of the rear upright 52 is transversely slotted, as at 51, so as to accommodate the forward portion of the knob 31 and which knob, for the most part, is housed within the lower end of rear upright portion of the member A. The handle A is secured at its forward end to the superdeck M by a screw 58 and, at its rear end, to the superdeck by screws 59.

The side walls of the channel 54, adjacent the front edges thereof, are provided with bosses cc having upwardly and forwardly directed corners over which the front end of the cover B is adapted to hook. These bosses have horizontally disposed upper edges 62 and downwardly and rearwardly inclined forwardly facing edges 63 which terminate at the floor 64 constituting the bottom of the recess 55. The handle cover B is in the form of a plastic strip substantially coextensive in length to the handle member A and adapted to closely fit betweenthe upper margins of the side walls which define the channel 54. i

The strip is preferably transversely arched and has marginal depending flanges 18 which depend At the rear end of the cover member is a downwardly and rearwardly inclined boss H provided with a threaded opening adapted to receive an attaching screw 12 extending upwardly and forwardly through the rear wall of the handle member. The forward end of the handle cover depends downwardly and terminates in a flat bottom surface M which, when the handle cover is in place, is parallel to, but forwardly of, the horizontal bottom floor 64. The flanges H1, adjacent their forward ends, are provided with rearwardly directly notches 'ES arranged to receive the corners of the bosses 58, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3. Rearwardly of the front end of the cover B, the flanges 1!] on the side walls of the channel 54. With this arrangement, the cover may be very readily posi-' The tioned and secured in place on the handle. cover, at its forward end, is anchored to the handle by engagement of'the bosses in the notches l6, and when screw 72 is tightened up, the tendency is to draw the cover back to insure such engagement and the rear end of the cover is drawn down so as to seat the cover on the shoulders 11.

The numeral 8!) designates a window member in front of the recess 55, the same being so constructed as to permit the passage of light therethrough from the lamp bulb 8! to a position forwardly of the toe of the iron whereby the articles being ironed will be properly illuminated. In the present instance, this window member is in the form of a generally V-shaped sheet metal plate having slots or openings therethrough. The wings of the member 85 frictionally fit against the side walls of the recess forwardly of that ledge and the rear edges of the wings engage against the inclined edge or ledge 53. The upper and lower edges of the member 80 are parallel to each other and are closely adjacent to or in contact with the respective surfaces 14 and 64 so that the member is held against vertical displacement. The memher is inclined downwardly and rearwardly so as to properly direct the light forwardly of the toe of the iron.

Mounted in the forward end of the channel is a lamp base or socket for the bulb 8|. The socket is carried by the forward end of a conductor 86 secured by a screw 81 against a seat provided on the bottom surface of the channel 54 between the shoulders 11. The conductor 86 extends rearwardly through the channel and downwardly through the rear upright 52. Its lower end is connected by a screw 89 to a conductor 9| carried in the usual manner by the plate 22 and leading to the fixed switch contact 2|. The center contact of the socket 85 is connected to a conductor 90 which is generally similar to the conductor 86. The lower end of the conductor 9G is suitably connected, in a manner not shown, to one end of the heating unit H. The other end of the unit is electrically connected to the movable switch contact 20. The iron is provided with a conductor cord which extends through an opening in the side wall of the channel 54, adjacent the rear end of the latter. The leads of this conductor cord are respectively connected to the conductors 86 and 90, as by screws 96, which are readily accessible when the cover member B is removed.

The bulb is lighted when the iron is at the desired temperature for ironiong and will, of course, give off some heat. In order to minimize the bulb from heating up the handle and also to properly reflect the light through the window, a shield 91 is placed about the bulb. This shield is in the form of a parti-cylindrical piece of sheet metal, the inner surface of which is polished or silvered. The shield straddles the bulb, and is readily removable therefrom. Furthermore, the space about the bulb is ventilated by the passage of a current of air through the hollow handle. This air may find ingress to the hollow handle through the spaces about the knob 3| and flows through the channel, about the bulb, and out of the openings in the window member.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted ,as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an electric flat iron, a sole plate, a casing thereon, a heating unit for heating the sole plate, a thermostat associated with the sole plate and responsive to the heat thereof, a switch within the casing actuated by said thermostat, means for adjusting the switch relative to said thermostat and including a, generally vertical shaft extending upwardly through the casing adjacent the rear end thereof, a circular disc-shaped indicator knob on the end of the shaft located above the casing for rotation in a generally horizontal plane; and a handle on the casing having a rear upright portion, a front upright portion, and a hand grip therebetween; said rear upright portion being provided with an elongated slot extending from one side of the vertical portion to the other across the front of said vertical portion and said knob being housed for the most part within said rear upright portion and having an inwardly and upwardly inclined peripheral wall extending forwardly through the slot therein.

2. In an electric fiat iron, a sole plate, a casing thereon, a heating unit for heating the sole plate, a thermostat associated with the sole plate and responsive to the heat thereof, a switch within the casing actuated by said thermostat, means for adjusting the switch relative to said thermostat and including a circular disc-shaped indicator knob located above the casing adjacent the rear end thereof; and a handle having a hollow rear upright, a front upright, and a hand grip; the forward wall of the hollow rear upright having a slot, said knob having a portion located within said rear upright and having a portion extending forwardly through said slot closing a major portion of the slot.

3. In an electric flat iron, a sole plate, a casing thereon; a plastic handle on the casing and having a hollow rear upright, a front upright provided with a recess in its front wall, and a hand grip provided with a passage extending from the hollow rear upright to said recess; a Window member forming the front wall of said recess and having openings therethrough, and a light bulb within said recess and arranged to emit light rays directed downwardly and forwardly of the toe of the iron, said rear upright having a slot communieating with the hollow interior portion of the upright for permitting a flow of air into said upright through said passage and about the bulb and out through the openings in the window member.

4. In an electric flat iron having a sole plate, a casing thereon, a heating unit for heating the sole plate, a thermostat associated with the sole plate and responsive to the heat thereof, a switch within the casing actuated by said thermostat, means for adjusting the switch relative to the thermostat including a shaft extending upwardly adjacent the rear end of the casing, a manually turnable knob mounted on the shaft and located above the casin adjacent the rear end thereof, the combination therewith of a handle carried by the casing comprising a front upright provided with a recess constructed and arranged to receive a light bulb for emitting light rays forwardly of the iron, a hollow rear upright formed with a slot in its forward wall for housing said knob with a portion of the knob extending forwardly through the slot, and a hand grip portion extending between said uprights provided with a longitudinally extending channel communicating at its ends with said recess and with said hollow rear upright forming an air passageway between the slot and the recess to permit a flow of cooling air through the handle from said slot.

5. In an electric flat iron, a sole plate, a casing thereon, a heating unit for heating the sole plate, a thermostat associated with the sole plate and responsive to the heat thereof, a switch within the casing actuated by said thermostat, means for adjustin the switch relative to the thermostat and having a knob located above the casing adjacent the rear end thereof; a handle carried by the casing and having a hollow rear upright, a front upright provided with a recess in its front wall, and a hand grip portion provided with a longitudinally extending channel communicating at its forward end with said recess; a indow member forming the front wall of said recess and having openings therethrough, a light bulb within said recess and arranged to emit light rays directed downwardly and forwardly of the toe of the iron, the forward wall of said rear upright having a slot communicating with the hollow interior thereof, said knob being located within said rear upright and having a portion extending forwardly through said slot, said slot, hollow rear upright, handle and window forming a continuous air passageway for conducting cooling air past the bulb.

6. In an electric flat iron, a sole plate, a casing thereon; a handle member on the casing having a rear upright, a front upright provided with a recess in its front wall, and a hand grip portion having a channel in its upper surface communieating at its front end with said recess; a lamp socket in the forward end of said channel, a window member forming the front wall of said recess, a plastic cover positioned between the upper margins of the side walls of the channel and recess, means adjacent the forward end of the cover for hooking the same to the side walls of the recess. upwardly facing shoulders on the side walls of the channel and on which the cover member is adapted to bear, and a screw between the rear end of said cover and the rear upright for securing the cover in place.

7. In an electric flat iron, a sole plate, a casing thereon; a plastic handle member on the casing having a hollow rear upright forming a passageway to the sole plate casing, a front upright provided with a recess in its front wall, a hand grip portion having a longitudinally extending channel in its upper surface communicating at its rear end with said hollow upright and at its forward end with said recess and forming a passageway therebetween, bosses on the opposed walls of said recess having upwardly and forwardly directed corners, and upwardly facing shoulders on the side walls of said channel rearwardly of said bosses; a light socket in the forward end of said channel for supporting a light bulb in said recess, a window member forming the front wall of said recess, a plastic cover having depending marginal flanges positioned between the upper margins of the side walls of said channel and recess, said flanges having adjacent their forward ends rearwardly directed recesses receiving said corners, said flanges between their ends being engaged on said shoulders, and a screw associated with the rear end of said cover for securing the same to the rear upright.

NILS T. ALMQUIST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,118,872 Lyle Nov. 24, 1914 2,117,097 Lieberman May 10, 1938 2,146,152 Martinet Feb. 7, 1939 2,198,924 Smith Apr. 30, 1940- 2,209,086 Johnson July 23, 1940 2,247,826 Weeks July 1, 1941 2,276,773 Hedeby Mar. 17, 1942 2,311,164 Ekstedt Feb. 16, 1943 2,333,521 Clark et a1. Nov. 2, 1943 2,395,584 Saffady Feb. 26, 1946 2,398,579 Clark et al Apr. 16, 1946 2,440,041 Clark Apr. 20, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 519,828 Great Britain Apr. 8, 1940 586,543 Great Britain -M--. Mar. 21, 1947 

